A twice updated story on Eurogamer reports job losses at Black Rock Studio, the Brighton-based, Disney-owned developer of various racing games, including Split/Second and Pure. The unconfirmed parts of the report include that about 100 positions are being cut, leaving a staff of about 40, and that about half the studio has been inactive since the end of last year, as follow ups to both Split/Second and Pure have been abandoned along the way. The confirmed part of the story is this statement from Disney: "Disney Interactive Studios confirms a reduction of its workforce from its Brighton-based internal game development studio, Black Rock Studios. The studio will continue its work on its current project."

I remember reading a while back from some kind of industry insider post that Disney Interactive is refocusing their business on children's games and is basically getting out of hardcore stuff like Black Rock and the now dead Propaganda Games were doing. Still amazes me that companies will spend millions to buy or start these studios just to dump it all a couple years later.